Henry VIII | Society and Rebellions Flashcards
(26 cards)
What was it like for the Nobility, under Henry VIII ?
Why is this significant ?
Generally positive, as amount of Nobles increased under Henry VIII and the new peers under Henry got there through being good courtiers or soldiers. However, they were being brought more under the control of the monarch.
Despite the fact the nobility was more under the control of the monarch, the nobility as a whole became more trusted and respetcatble, in comparison to Henry VIIIs treatment of his nobles, due to his fear of rebellion.
What was expected of the nobility during Henrys reign ?
-Exert royal authority
-Expected to have great households and offer hospitality to their affinity and neighbours.
-Practice their local influence
-Rallying local militias
Who were the three significant nobles under Henry VIII ?
-Edward Seymour (Duke of Somerset)
-Thomas Howard (Duke of Norfolk)
-Charles Brandon (Duke of Suffolk)
What was it like for the gentry under Henry VIII ?
Why is this significant ?
Gentry increased under Henry VIII and number of JPs increased too, increasing the number of participants in local admin, as many members of the gentry were drawn into unpaid admin for the Crown. Also gentry were keen for sons to acquire legal training to help further their status locally.
John Guy estimates there were 5000 gentry families in Henrys England, and the increase in Gentry as a whole shows a rise of the middle class in England, proof of economic stability and signified a move away from power being purely religeon based and now shifted towards serving the king by alternative means.
What was expected of Gentry during Henrys reign ?
To ensure law and order in regions beyond Henrys control, and hold roles in local governance.
What was it like for the commoners under Henry VIII ?
Why did Henry ensure to protect the needs of the commoners ?
No drastic changes in the first half of Henry’s reign, however, later into Hnerys reign, a rise in inflation led to a drop in real incomes. And on the whole there was little change of regular and secure employment.
Government feared the commoners, due to their strength in numbers, and the fear of disorder leading to rebellion, especially in the north where Henry had significantly less support. This led to Henry catering to the needs of the commoners in the Amicable Grant (1525), for example.
What were Henrys problems in regards to regionalism ?
Why is regionalism as a whole problematic ?
- Wales
- The North of England
- The Scottish border
Henrys control of areas further away from London was weak, meaning local authorities in these regions were given more power, often outweighing national authorities, leading to people feeling identified to their region rather than their country. This leads to a lack of support for the king as a whole.
How did Henry deal with the Welsh situation ?
How did this work ?
Laws in Wales Act 1535/46
-Divided Wales into shire counties
-Gave Welsh shires direct representation in House of Commons
-Brought Wales into the same legal framework as England
Wales became incorporated into England, as they had less distinguished identity
-Crown controlled Wales through the aristocracy
How did Henry manage law and order in Wales ?
Council of Wales based in Ludlow, Shropshire
which offered cheap and local access to the law.
What was the situation in the North ?
Separate jurisdictions from the rest of the English kingdom (although Lancashire and Cheshire were essentially in royal hands and Durham’s palatinate jurisdiction was exercised by the bishop
How did Henry deal with the situation in the North ?
How did this work ?
-Act Resuming Liberties to the Crown, (1536)
-Henry and Cromwell re-established the Council of the North
The Act Resuming Liberties to the Crown reduced bishop’s independent power, bringing the North under more monarchical control. Also, the Council of the North was effective as it was a permanent body based in York (Catholic and Yorkist Heartland),
with professional staff effective in administrative and legal functions which kept the North at bay during the summer rebellions in 1549 for example.
What was the situation on the Scottish border ?
What additional factor, makes this more problematic ?
It was a problematic area for Henry VIII as lawlessness and violence was prevelent alongside cattle and sheep rustling, also it was remote and often inhospitable in winter.
Henrys aggressive foreign policy with France and Scottland worsned the Scottish situation, as it caused widespread discord and hatred amongst the English and Scottish across the border.
How did Henry deal with the situation on the Scottish border ?
Split the border counties into 3 marches with each having a warden, either from border magnate nobility or local officers from the gentry class to manage law and order. (Although locals saw their loyalty to magnates rather than gentry officers).
What was the main causes of rebellion during Henry VIIIs reign ?
Why are these problematic ?
-Dissolution of the Monasteries
-Taxation
-Religeous change
The reason why these are problematic, is that they affect the majoirty, as taxation has a significant impact on the commmoners in society - who cannot afford additional taxation, and the dissolution of the monasteries and changes to religeon impacts the catholic majority who didn’t welcome change, aswell as impacting the poor’s access to the community.
What were the consequences of the dissolution of monasteries for education ?
-Many monasteries had been noted for their educational provision
-With the demise of monasteries, their sister-schools were lost
-Restricted the poor’s access to education
What were the consequences of the dissolution of monasteries for land ?
-More land went from Church to Crown,made the King more powerful
-Militaristic foreign policy led to sales of the land at low-prices increasing size and wealth of the land-holding gentry
-By 1547 2/3 of monastic land had been sold on the cheap or granted away.
What were the consequences of the dissolution of monasteries for employment ?
Monks and nuns found themselves unemployed and although some monks became secular priests and others received pensions, Nuns were not given such luxuries, and were somewhat disregarded.
What were the consequences of the dissolution of monasteries for communities ?
-Monasteries played a considerable role in communities as they offered education, employment and business opportunities to locals
-Communities tried to protect their monasteries from being subject to dissolution, showing how crucial they are to the community.
-Hexham in Northumberland saw royal officials prevented from seizing the land by armed locals *
How did Henry face rebellion over taxation ?
How was this dealt with ?
What does this show ?
-Additional taxation to fund 1513 militarism, saw complaints in Yorkshire.
-Resistance to Wolseys Amicable Grant in 1525, as 1000 men gathered at the Essex-Suffolk border in protest and the Dukes of Norfolk and Suffolk faced 4000 resistors themselves.
Wolsey asked for pardons for the “Suffolk countrymen” and the leaders of the resistance were treated very leniently.Henry couldn’t defy the taxpayers so when he next opted to invade France, he got the money from the sale of monastic lands.
This shows Henrys fear of revolt from the commoners as Henry chose to deal with the matter very leniently and backed down. This also shows the strength of the majoiry as a whole, in protesting against the actions of the king.
What two major rebellions did Henry face in 1536 ?
How did the rebellion start ?
-Lincolnshire Rising
-Pilgrimage of Grace
The largest single rebellion in the history of Tudor England began in Lincolnshire in early October 1536. This spread over the Humber into the East Riding of Yorkshire and continued from there into parts of Yorkshire. As a whole, the Lincolnshire Rising was only a brief rising by Roman Catholics, however its failure after only ten days led to a second more militant uprising, led by Robert Aske, then started in the Dales and spread into Lancashire, Durham and into Craven.
What caused the Lincolnshire rising ?
What does this show ?
-Opposition to the dissolution of monasteries primarily, although religeous change as a whole, was also a significant contributory factor.
This shows the reformation was not as easy as Henry had expected, as clearly society was reluctant toward the rapid shift in the reliegon, as catholicism was deeply emgrained into Englands society, and before the Kings Great Matter religeous change was never a discussuion, overall shwoing how the majoiry of England refused to convert relieon, perhaps proving a lack of loyalty to Henry and more loyalty towards the Pope.
What caused the Pilgrimage of Grace ?
Why is this ?
-The inspiration from the Lincolnshire rising
-Religeous oppostion
-Secular motives (economic opposition (taxation) and political oppostion)
The ignition from the Lincolnshire Rising, was key as it had inspired a second rising within the same month. And in terms of religeous opposition, the fear of losing Parishes and Catholic traditions coupled with opposition to the dissolution of the monasteries, drove many to partake in the revolt. In terms of secular motives, economics was a significant factor as many took part in the revolt to protest aginst a gap between the rich and poor and landlord-steward relations aswell as taxation. Lastly, Cromwell and his closest advisors drove many to rebellion, as his politics was the souurce of oppostion due to his prosestantism and many saw his politics as attacking the commoners.
Why did Dissolution of Monasteries cause the Pilgrimage of Grace ?
-It was clear that the dissolution would have a number of effects which many people found undesirable.
-Loss of charity and education which some provided, aswell as the general facilities and services offered by the monasteries .
-There was also a fear of a possible loss of Parish Churches which were monastic properties.
-Worries of North coming under the control of southerners through land sales.
Why did fear for Parishes and Religeous changes cause the Pilgrimage of Grace ?
-Cromwell’s Injunctions in 1536 seen as attacking traditional religious practices
-Locally important saints could not be celebrated in parts of Yorkshire as it was discouraged
-Discouragement of pilgrimages
-Rumours that church plate and jewels would be confiscated
-Worries that parishes might be amalgamated.
